Bend Adds Particle Engineering and Spray-Drying Capabilities with New Suites
Located within Bend’s Oregon facility, the four new process development and manufacturing suites will support spray drying and unit operations, helping the company to meet the growing needs of clients in these areas.
Innovation, science, and pharmaceutical services partner, Bend Bioscience, has unveiled four new process development and manufacturing suites, located within its 30,000 sq. ft. facility in Bend, Ore. (1). The opening of these suites completes the company’s 14,000 sq. ft. process science and manufacturing facility, which now has seven state-of-the-art manufacturing suites covering early-phase product development and manufacturing of enhanced dosage form products.
The four new suites will provide Bend’s customers with support for spray drying and unit operations including granulation, encapsulation, compression, and coating for oral dosage forms. Additionally, a dedicated low humidity suite for inhalation powder encapsulation and moisture-sensitive powder handling is included. Further current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) processing equipment, such as a second pilot-scale spray dryer (300 kg/hr gas flow), 100 L agitated vacuum secondary dryer, and dosage form train that incorporates a 16-station Korsch X3 MFP tablet press and associated granulation, blending, and coating unit operations, are included in the suites.
“We are proud to showcase both our state-of-the-art facility and equipment as well as our high science and high service culture that we employ to meet our customers key formulation development and manufacturing needs,” commented Owen Murray, CEO of Bend Bioscience, in a company press release (1). “This latest extension provides additional capacity and capabilities to meet growing demand from clients in the areas of particle engineering and spray drying for absorption enhancement and dry-powder inhalation.”
The company announced the opening of its process and manufacturing science facility in October 2023, revealing that the facility had been designed to have the capability and capacity to handle a diverse range of client needs. Additionally, as the facility is used for multiple products, the company specified that it includes a high efficiency particulate air-filtered, single pass, unidirectional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system to maintain quality standards (2).
“Adding process development, scale-up and GMP manufacturing allows us to take our clients’ programs to the next level,” remarked Dan Dobry, Chief Strategy Officer, Bend Bioscience in a company press release (2). “This new facility seamlessly complements our existing R&D Innovation Lab, and we’re excited to now be able to make these innovations a reality and take our clients’ programs to the next level with support of further process scale-up and GMP manufacturing.”
In April 2025, the company also announced the addition of a commercial-scale spray dryer and a Gerteis dry granulation system at its facility in Gainesville, Ga., expanding the facility’s capabilities to provide technologically advanced absorption- and bioavailability-enhanced products, and comprehensive clinical and commercial scale oral dose forms (3).
“Our FDA-inspected Gainesville site is known for its exceptional customer service, and these latest additions demonstrate our commitment to providing strong, innovative, and comprehensive solutions that empower our customers to bring their transformative therapies to market,” said Murray, in a press release about the Gainesville expansion (3). “This expansion not only reinforces our position as a leader in the pharmaceutical services industry, but also allows us to meet the demands of significant near-term growth through our network of capabilities and expertise in enhancing pharmacokinetics, particle engineering, and modified release forms.”
References
Bend Bioscience. Bend Bioscience Opens 4 New Process Development and Manufacturing Suites in Oregon. Press Release, June 19, 2025.
Bend Bioscience. Bend Bioscience Announces the Opening of its State-of-the-Art Pharmaceutical Process and Manufacturing Science Facility. Press Release, Oct. 5, 2023.
Bend Bioscience. Bend Bioscience Adds Commercial Spray Drying and Granulation in Georgia. Press Release, April 2, 2025.